Empoli pulled off a magnificent escape from the Serie A relegation zone on the final day with a 2-1 win over Roma , keeping Davide Nicola 's men in the top flight as Frosinone went down to Serie B. Nicola - already renowned as a survival specialist following previous miracles with Crotone, Torino and Salernitana - saw M'Baye Niang strike right at the death following earlier goals from Matteo Cancellieri and Houssem Aouar to dramatically ensure a fourth straight season of top-flight football. With just mere moments of the season remaining, Frosinone - who lost 1-0 to fellow relegation rivals Udinese - were home and dry, but Niang's bedlam-triggering strike sent the Canaries back to the second tier alongside Salernitana and Sassuolo.
Despite starting the evening in the relegation zone - boasting 33 points from 37 fixtures to sit one point below the dotted line in 18th - Empoli had their fate in their own hands heading into the final day. As a result of 17th-placed Udinese (34) and 16th-placed Frosinone (35) facing each other, Nicola's side knew that victory would keep them afloat in the big time no matter the result in the crunch basement battle at Stadio Benito Stirpe. A point would have sufficed for Empoli's survival had Udinese suffered defeat at Frosinone, but the Azzurri finishing level on points with Le Zebrette would have seen a two-legged relegation playoff materialise.
© Reuters Empoli's bid to stun the Giallorossi and rise above the demotion line began in perfect fas.